Which standard is considered more machmir: chalak (Beit Yosef) or glatt?

I have heard that when the Ashkenazim started emigrating in force to Israel, there was an issue of the Ashkenazim being meikel on the matter of beef. However, I have also heard that chumrat glatt originates in Hungary, so there is a possibility that chalak would be comparatively meikel.

חלק בית יוסף is more stringent. No source, no answer (hence the comment).
– ShokhetJul 29 '14 at 2:50

Beis Yosef does not allow for ririn(adhesions which can be shooken off) if I remember correctly,def Beis Yosef is more machmir
– samJul 29 '14 at 10:29

However,it could be today the hechsherim don't allow for ririn and they would be the same maybe
– samJul 29 '14 at 10:39

Hello Noach. There are numerous stores in Brooklyn that sell Beit Yosef meats. Pomegranate is a well regarded kosher supermarket. I have always found the meat manager to be extremely friendly and helpful. May I suggest that you give him a call. I am sure he would be able to answer your question.
– JJLLJul 29 '14 at 15:12

@NoachmiFrankfurt Can you clarify what exactly you mean by your question? It what sense do you mean more machmir? Is the question about using one if your minhag is the other, or just which person of two who follow each would be considered more machmir, or...?
– LiquidMetalJul 29 '14 at 18:21

2 Answers
2

Not all sirchot are equal. There are certain areas of the lung, where
a sircha will not make the animal treif. However, there are differing
opinions as to the extent of these areas. The Sephardi view (following
the Beit Yosef) is more lenient – that is, according to them, there
are more areas where a sircha can exist without affecting the kashrut.
As a result, sirchot on certain areas of the lung can be ignored by
the Sephardim, while those same sirchot will make the entire animal
treif for Ashkenazim (following the Rama).

On the other hand, Ashkenazim are more lenient in handling those
sirchot found on the critical areas of the lung (where they can make
the animal treif). The Rama allows for these sirchot to be removed by
gentle peeling or squeezing, and if the lungs are then checked and
found to have no perforations, the meat is considered kosher. The Beit
Yosef strongly disagrees with this procedure stating that it is not
permissible to remove sirchot in any manner and thus they always
render the animal treif.

Some Ashkenazim follow another leniency whereby certain small, thin
sirchot which can be easily removed, are considered ‘ririn’ (mucous)
and do not affect the standard of kashrut (Beit David), regardless of
where it is located. Sephardim do not make this distinction.

Thus, an Ashkenzi cannot rely on the בית יוסף alone, and a ספרדי cannot rely on just Glatt Kosher, and neither is universally more machmir than the other.

This info is all straight out of the books. However i have heard from credible sources that the slaughter houses in America that go by Bet Yossef are no longer lenient on the sircha issue. I cannot confirm if that is actually true or not.
– user6591Jul 29 '14 at 16:04

2

A side point to keep in mind that people don't seem to know is that when you see the words 'Bet Yosef' proudly displayed in a store window, its worth about as much as seeing the word 'kosher' in neon lights. It does not guaranty anything. What you want to see is the tiuda, the paper stating who the Rabbi, or Chacham is who actually ensures the halachic status of the food therein.
– user6591Jul 29 '14 at 16:09

1

While this is true of R Yosef Karo and Moshe Isserlis, it doesn't really answer the question.
– Double AA♦Jul 29 '14 at 17:11

According to the Beit Yoseph, certain sirchos are kosher without any further bedika (examination). These are sircha c'sidran and sircha b'dophen tsar. An animal which has such sirchot is kosher Beit Yoseph, but is not chalak. If it has no sirchos at all, it is chalak. The Rama himself did not allow those sirchos which the Beit Yoseph allowed, in fact the Rama says that wherever a sircha is found, the animal should not be eaten. However he mentions a custom to rub the sircha between the fingers, and if it melts away, it is not considered a sircha at all. The rama does not allow it but says ein mochin b'yadam (meaning we don't stop them). The contemporary poskim all said that the only thing allowed was to rub the sircha between the fingers, but someone who peels off the sircha is feeding treiphos to the c'lal Yisroel. Later, the shochetim started to peel off the sirchos, and for whatever reason, the rabbis allowed it. This is discussed in the Aruch Hashulchan. He specifically says that this peeling off of sirchos that everyone does was formerly considered treiph.

Glatt literally translated means the same as chalak- no sirchos. In practice (it very much depends on the area, the weather, the humidity, the cattle feed, the conditios (free range, small pens, etc.), only about 10% of US beef is truly chalak. To increase the yield, someone decided that if the animal had up to three small sirchos (which they called ririn), it could still be called glatt.

With the demand by knowledgeable consumers for truly glatt (=chalak) meat, the marketers had to come up with a new name. They couldn't call the chalak meat "real glatt" because then they would have to admit that most of the so called glatt really is not. So they decided to call it Beis Yoseph.

So if the meat is called glatt, it most likely is not truly glatt. If it is called Beit Yoseph, it might be truly chalak. If it is called chalak Beit Yoseph, then it is really claiming to have no sirchos.

Nice answer, +1 .... I've also heard the same, but I'd like to know if you have more specific source than just "Rama" "Beit Yoseph" and "Aruch Hashulchan," so I could better research this myself. Thanks!
– ShokhetOct 31 '14 at 13:12

Not 100%.... Glatt is a minhag, but the Beis Yosef and Sepharadim hold that chalaq is mandatory. One can be lenient in doubts about minhag, but not about doubts in baseline kosher. So even "real glatt" is more lenient than Bet Yosef.
– Micha BergerJan 17 '17 at 17:43

@emeslyaakov said "To increase the yield, someone decided that if the animal had up to three small sirchos (which they called ririn), it could still be called glatt." FYI this SOMEONE is no other than the Shelah Hakodosh!
– AshDec 3 '18 at 15:01

Also in practice there is levels of Chalak Beis Yosef from shaish (marble) which is absolutely smooth, to slightly lesser levels which are still marked chalak beis yosef. Bottom line, don't rely on the internet for answers. Ask your LOR as this is a very involved area with many variations. You could have chalak beis yosef shaish but the bodek pnim is not up to standard, etc..
– AshDec 3 '18 at 15:04